GRANTS, NM - At the regular Lodgers Tax Board meeting on March 23, the board members began by reviewing the action items that they will take action on in a future meeting. According to Scott Grey, the City of Grants Lodgers Tax awarded $300,000 in lodgers tax funds last year.
He went on to state that the requests for this year are around $537,000. He continued by saying that they will have a better idea of how much will be awarded in April, and if it is close to what it was last year, some requests may not be fully funded. During the regular meeting on April 27, the board will make their recommendations, and in the following month, those recommendations will be presented in the City Council Meeting. Grey then noted that if anyone has any concerns, they may voice them at that City Council meeting. The City Council will be the ones that make the decision on the money that will be awarded.
The first presentation before the board was given by Jamie Holton for the Grants Rodeo Association. Their request is for $5,000 more than last year at $48,000. Holton said that they do have a bit of money left over from last year and that they need to build new stalls. She said that the building is set to start on October first and that they will be taking down about 18 stalls. She stated that the money they have will go towards building the new ones. Holton then highlighted some of the nine scheduled events that would take place up until that point, as well as noting that they are in need of a new tractor and smaller water truck. The Grants Rodeo Association plans to seek grants for these purchases in the future. Most of their Lodgers Tax money goes into promotions in order to bring people to Grants for their events. According to Holden, they are a nonprofit and put any money made from events back into utilities and maintenance.
The second presentation before the board was for the Fire and Ice Biker Rally. The plan that was presented is to expand the event back to downtown Grants as it was in the past with similar events. $40,000 total is what is being requested. The event is being planned for July.
The third presentation before the board was given by Jackie Heath for the Cibola County Historical Society. They are requesting $23,000 total to continue the operation of their two museums. Heath stated that the reason for their increase in the money they have requested this year is due to the Western NM Aviation Heritage Museum in Milan needing paint repair. Heath also stated that their museum in Grants also adds new exhibits with the money they receive.
The fourth presentation was given by Leslie Smith for the Cibola Arts Council. Smith highlighted some of the events they had planned for the future to the board. She also expressed the need to create an easy way to access the Garden as well as adding additional cameras for security.
The fifth presentation was given by race director Kendra Brown for Mt Taylor Quadrathlon. According to Brown, it has now been a part of the community for 40 years, and just this year, the race brought in 270 racers and their families to the event. They are branching out heavily through social media and are seeking sponsorship opportunities as well. It was also mentioned that on March 9, the quadrathlon was recognized in the NM House of Representatives and that day was declared 'Mt Taylor Quadrathlon Day.' Brown had also stated that it relies completely on their snowcat to groom the trails to make them safe and that they are worried that the snowcat is 'on its last leg.' They are requesting to start getting $25,000 every year to store away until they can eventually buy a new snowcat. They are asking for $63,200 total.
The sixth presentation was for the San Rafael Fire Department given by the new San Rafael fire chief, Devin Marez and Cindy Hays, a representative and board member of the Tri-State Firemen's Association that includes New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. Their event is a competition for teams in the association that will all come together to show the skills of their trade here in Grants. They are actively seeking sponsorship. According to Hays, the association has done this for about 85 years and Grants has hosted six of the conventions previously. The last time they were here was in 2013 for the 75th anniversary of the Tri-State Association. The budget is $20,000.
The seventh presentation was given by Michael Brown for the Cibola Trail Alliance. He highlighted the work they have done since last year with the Lobo Canyon Trail System and touched on a trail race event they plan to support in Bluewater as well as the Triathlon. They are asking for $7000 total.
The eighth presentation was given by volunteers Damon and Anna with their boss Chase Elkins for Cibola County 4-H Shooting Sports. They highlighted the event the organization has planned and went over their goal to transition the event into a two-day event from its original purpose as a fundraiser.
The ninth presentation was given by Brenda Curtright for the Cibola County Chamber of Commerce. Curtright highlighted the contract with the State of New Mexico and the City of Grants to promote the New Mexico Mining Museum as well as the advertising costs and outreach on social media used in order to bring in visitors to the community by spreading awareness and having a presence. She also made mention of the future of their Rugged West event. During Curtright's presentation, Lodgers Tax board member Aaron Dean inquired about why the Chamber of Commerce doesn't bring in carnivals anymore in order to do their own fundraising. Curtright stated 'It is really expensive and they only promise you some money out of their event if they make money.' Curtright continued on to discuss her experience with carnivals; when contracting carnivals, they expect to make a certain amount of money, expect to be paid upfront, and if they go over that amount then they will pay the contractee. She mentioned that, in her experience, carnivals want a $10,000 guarantee. She did say, however, it might be something she could work out with some other entities to raise money. Dean responded by telling her that it doesn't cost anything and that carnivals will give a percentage off of what it makes. Curtright then inquired about how he used to cover the liability cost for carnivals when he would bring a carnival to town. He then responded by saying that the carnival has their own insurance. Curtright then stated that the law is now that if they are raising money through the event, they have to have insurance as well, even if the carnival has their own. Aaron then responded, 'No, you don't. You don't have to do that because the main thing you have to do is to supply a place for them to have it.' Curtright then inquired if it needed to be insured if it was on any city property. Aaron then stated that it didn't because they used to sponsor the ones where the library is at now every year. The presentation then continued with the highlighting of the Fourth of July events.
The 10th presentation was also given by Brenda Curtright for the New Mexico Mining Museum. She highlighted the events that will be taking place as well as wanting to add more things for kids to do at the museum due to entertaining schools bringing their kids on trips to them. She also mentioned their work on their summer carnivals as well as an expansion project they are working on with the Department of Energy. Their total request for the mining museum is $48,500.
The 11th presentation was given by Ken Petranos for the American Legion Riders Chapter 18. Petranos highlighted the charitable and fundraising events that will be taking place as well as some maintenance that is needed. $3,000 is what they are requesting.
The 12th and final presentation was given by William Yarborough for Grants MainStreet. He highlighted their advertising opportunities for online audio available in the area through apps to attempt to pull people off the interstate. He also expressed interest in tracking the increases in tourism. Yarborough then presented the idea of producing a PDF map and printable that will show locations of interest to the local community to remind them of what we have. The last part of his presentation covered next year's car show as well as other festivities that will be taking place. Their total request is for $24,813.11.